Motorcycle Review: 2006 Harley Davidson Softail Springer

2006 Harley-Davidson Softail

PHOTO: Handout, Harley-Davidson

By David Booth, Canwest News Service

Originally published: August 10, 2011

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Like the movie actor who often mistakes the public’s adoration for interest in his actual day-to-day life, many motorcycle writers miss the point when it comes to testing cruisers, especially Harley-Davidsons.

It’s probably not their fault. Motorcycle testing is for the young — or at least those who are good at deluding themselves that they are still young. Trundling through the countryside at 90 kilometres an hour is hardly exciting, nor does it make for a death-defying tale around the office cooler/local haberdashery/passed out on the floor at an all-night rave. But that is what many cruisers are designed for.

Oh, the new power cruisers might be all about performance with style. And the new breed of quasi-cruisers/tourers boasts decent comfort at the expense of a little style. But, for the most part, riding a cruiser is life in slow motion. They are for the 48-year-old-never-wases playing hockey at 6 a.m. on Saturday or watching bowling highlights on TSN.

The Harley-Davidson Softail Springer Classic — yes, its name is a mouthful but necessary because there are many variants of the Softail and more than one Springer — is so named for the mondo-retro front suspension. The Softail’s “springer” suspension is as old as the Polaroid camera and, in this digital age, about as useful. It is technology moulded for style with performance be damned. It gets the job of absorbing bumps done as long as one is not going too fast or the potholes are too deep. But the Springer’s chassis quickly tells you that anything above 120 km/h is simply not appreciated. Besides, don’t you want to smell the flowers and wave to the cows?

Likewise, it doesn’t matter much that Harley-Davidson’s Big Twin 88 engine is now a middleweight among cruisers. With the Japanese all offering larger-displacement cruisers (all the way to the Kawasaki Vulcan 2000), Harley’s 1,450-cubic-centimetre twin is smaller and not quite as powerful (though Harley does offer optional equipment to boost power).

Normally, I’d rail about needing more of everything — displacement, horsepower and torque — but, like I said, the Springer is all about trundling. It’s happiest cruising between 90 and 110 klicks with an occasional burst to 120 kilometres an hour, so what’s the point of having Suzuki Hayabusa-like power? It has enough to get the job done and, in this case, too much would simply be too much.

The Springer, by the way, is offered in both carbureted and fuel-injected forms. If you can afford it, opt for the much sweeter-running fuel-injected model (the carburetor version starts at $22,059 while the EFI begins at $22,379).

The one performance item I would like, however, is a second brake disc on the front wheel. Harley might claim that more braking power could overwhelm the archaic front suspension, but I don’t care. In an emergency stop, I want all the retarding power I can get, and the Springer’s single-disc brake just doesn’t have enough.

Comfort is good, though, with a broad saddle spreading the load for all the — shall we say — semi-rotund people that seem to frequent Harley-Davidson gatherings. At the speeds intended, I like the “cowhorn” handlebar’s upright seating position, and the footpegs are mercifully placed relatively rearward.

My tester bike came with little leather saddlebags styled for the old Panhead motif the Springer Classic pulls off so well. It made the Harley just a little bit more useful running around town. If one could add a handlebar-mounted windshield for more comfort, the Springer would make a passable weekend tourer, albeit one with a whole bunch of classic style.

However, those looking for a long-distance cruiser or performance bike need to look elsewhere. Harley-Davidson doesn’t even pretend that this is a performance machine. On the other hand, should those smelly flowers be beckoning, this might just be the (slow-motion) ride you’re looking for.